NEWARK -- Penalties have plagued the Devils early in the season, and coach John Hynes sent a clear message to his team on Friday night.

Forward Miles Wood did not return to the ice after taking a high sticking double minor at 13:59 of the second period, and forward Kyle Palmieri sat for over 10 minutes after a cross checking penalty earlier in the second period.

"Collectively, players and coaches know we've taken too many," Hynes said. "So I just think tonight, we made it simple.

"Sometimes the best way to put an end to it is, if they're going to be inadvertent and we're going to continue to do that, then guys will lose ice time."

Wood also received a minor for holding an opponent's stick in the first period, giving him six total penalty minutes for the night. Following Palmieri's cross check at 6:07 in the second period, he did not take a shift until the 18:50 mark of the period.

After Wood's high sticking penalty, the Devils' didn't go to the box again.

The Devils entered Friday's game third in the NHL in penalty minutes at 110. While the Devils' penalty kill stopped all five power-play opportunities for the Sharks, the Devils know penalties can cost them on other nights.

"Penalties were an issue again," Devils captain Andy Greene said. "Way too many minor penalties, and it's good to see the PK tonight. That's one positive after a rough night last night. But it's tough. Sometimes you start getting to your games and all of a sudden there's one penalty or two penalties, and then it just ruins the flow of the game and some momentum."

Penalties will likely be one of the Devils' focuses during their week without a game, where they are expected to practice five times. When the Devils ran into some penalty trouble last season, Hynes would stop practices to have players skate sprints if a penalty was committed.

Hynes is again trying to nip penalties in the bud, and he took another step on Friday.